Fish excluder or guard.



C. SCHWINGER.

FISH EXCLUDEB 0R GUARD.

FILED APR l6 19! 1,266,331. I Patented May 14,1918.

,l'] R 8 Conrad Schwimaer 35 ba etim ma 'emngeme t De arts: me in UNITED we e F GE- CONRAD SOHWINGER, F PARKER, SOUTH DAKOTA.

mm nxcnvnnn 01B, do n. 1' 2:741 CLAW 4' 1,2 66 331. Speodfloamian of'petters ratent. Patented May 14:, 1918. i ?I "91mm 511 W 1r i naauonmea April 16,1917. Serial No. 162,407.

To all whom it mag concern: pgsed. of ,Arehaped end members 2 and 3, Be it known that I, CONRAD Souwmqen, the side bare-4 and 5 of which are .0011- e ojti zen of the United States, residin at nected aat their lowver ends by cross bars 6. Pai'ker, in the cdunty of i'litirner and z, tate ;These en members 2 and ,3 are connected 5 of fSopth Da'kota, hflye .iiw entefi certain hew hit their apices by a longitudina llyeggtepding 6o aha iifs'efuI Improvements in F xqluders h n- Twhich is arranged transversely at ,the or Guafc'ls,ofwhich the fdiloWiglS aspeci- (m t p we is of a lelggth sqbstqptielly ficatiqn. a ieql'mlito thewiglth ofthe itch so that when This invention relates to improvements in theframe is poeitioned in the'ditch, the end water'fge tes and more particularly-to that m nbers thereof will clusely engage the 65 fprm of gate known as a fish exclude? 01 i es of the ditch toprevent possibility a1 o the fish passing between said end mem- "Ihe main object of the invention is to befisaxidsajdsides. t'bfitllh gate of this character wh ieh may A bar 8 cqnnecte the cross bars 6 of the e'lfleetively enipibyedin a sluice, ii'rigtmttwo end memhers as shown qlearly in gEigs. 70 ir lg Hitch or other wuterwa y. to prevent 2 and an upright r9textends from the troutfioi' other *fish from passing" to the apexof each eng'tmember to its crossbar 6 water beyond theiguard; Y emi is sequined thereto midwey the length Anetherqhjehti sto provide a glte of this thereof. Mountedto revolve in this gimme chradtepwhloh so "eonsti'uct' "as,' t0;be is a'e igfe eton QiiinnlO composedhfcixcular -75 self cleaning ehd therebyprevent 1 g 'ng. jendnde. "themes 11 which are b Another object is to provide ageteo I the bjeld es lg secured hereto by screws 12' chitrete c'having outwardly op efiipg secwhich extepd' ilj'om the eripheI-ies of said tionsvthich areheidih 35} position until endmenlbere ll inward 10y jj bqut 91w tl1e ;g'site passesa predetermined point-in ter of the diameter of said e id teem ers. s0 'itsirdtttiohi These limes are designed-toopenete ig t he ""iheipresent im'ent ion also contemplates a1n} fiie mer 21s the ox'gdinery'gblgt'gies of a th ijroyisionofa "device as above deg clibed Water wheel to cafise thGfOiZ-HHQ 1 1,QJIQQ by which shell-be Simfileysubstafftiei atnd inexthe impinging =of t he waterfqtgegiiet these allow the fish to pass freely by the guard suitable gnidcs 14) are n'iollnted on the em n'iemhers 2 and 3 of the frame as is shown clearly in Fig. 2.

5 The combined guide and vane closing devices are shown in the form of compound curves and constructed of bars of suitable strength to withstand the strains brought to bear thereon by the pressure of the vanes.

These guides 16 are secured at one end to the side bars 5 of the A-shaped end member of the frame at points above the normal water level of the dltch as is shown clearly in Fig. l and their lower ends are secured to the longitudinally disposed bars 8, the curvature of said guides conforming to the cur vature of the vanes and to the periphery of the ends of the drum 10 so that when the drum is turned the free ends of the vanes 20 will enter the space between the guides 16 and the drum and he held by said guides against outward opening until they reach a point beyond the down stream end of said guides 16, and when they have reached this point, they may swing outwardly into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1 and thus permit any refuse lodging within the drum to lpass out into the water below the gate.

he vanes 15 are here shown composed of frames having arcuate wires 17 spaced any suitable or desired distance apart according to the size of the fish which it is desired to exclude. While these vanes are shown composed of wires, it is to be understood that they may be composed of any other suitable material provided they are sufliciently reticulated to permit the passage of Water therethrough.

n the operation of this excluder, the

frame is positioned in the ditch with the end members closely engaging the side Walls thereof and the cross bars 6 and connectin bars 8 embodied in the bottom of the ditc so as to dispose the drum with its eriphery at its lowest extremity spaced sli l itly from the bottom of the ditch. This d rum is rotated with the current of the streamby the water impinging against the blades 12 causmgit to turn in the direction of the arrow (1. When this drum is so revolved the vanes 15 on the upstream side will drop into closed positionas shown in Fig. l and be held in this posltionby the guides 16 during the turning of the drum through the water in the ditch so that any fish which may be .in the ditch and may endeavor to pass this drum will find their assage obstructed and yet the water will e permitted to pass freely through the ditch. After the drum as rotated a suflicient distance tocause its vanesor wings to pass beyond the downstream end of the guide 16, these vane-s will swmg outward under the action of the current of water and permit all debris which y ha e enter d h gh he in erstices of.

the vanes to pass freely out and the drum may be thereby cleaned, the continued rotation causing the vanes to drop back into closed position as will be obvious.

In agate of this character, it is preferable that it be constructed about twice as high as the normal water level in the ditch, the level being herein shown at L in Fig. 1 and which is about half as high as the diameter of drum 10. This is to insure the prevention of the fish passing over the drum.

The apparatus will thus be automatically cleaned to prewent clogging, it being apparent from the foregoing taken in connection with the drawings that the other objects desired are carried out satisfactorily.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and f the method of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains and While I have described the principle of operation of the invention together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made as are with in the scope of the claimed invention.

I claim 1. The combination of a supporting struc hire to fit transversely across a ditch to be guarded, a skeleton drum having an axle mounted to rotate in said structure andcomposed of solid circular end members, blades connecting said end members and extending from their peripheries inward, an arcuate reticulated vane hinged at one edge to each blade with its free edge lapping the next blade, semi-circular vane guide and closing devices carried by said structure in front of and in close proximity to said drum, being concentric therewith whereby the vanes at the front of the drum are held closed throughout half the circumference of the drum during the downward movement of the vanes on the forward turning of the drum, and which permit them to open after the drum passes the bottom of the ditch.

2. In a device of the class described, a skeleton drum adapted to be partially submerged in a stream, arcuate screens pivoted at one edge to the periphery thereof to open outwardly on the upward turning of the 1 drum, means for holding said screens out of contact with thebottom of the stream, and means for rotating the drum against the current of the stream.

3. In a device of the class described, a 1 skeleton drum, screens pivoted to the periphery thereof with their edges arranged in proximity when closed, and guides 00- o. crating with the, successive screens to c ose them and hold them closed during; 13m

their descent, said guides being positioned periphery of the drum during their de- 1 to permit the screens to open upwardly and scent. outwardly after passing the bottom of the In testimony whereof I afiix my slgnature streaIIn. d b in presence of two witnesses.

4. n a device of the class escri ed a r skeleton drum, arcuate screens pivotedat CONRAD SCHWINGLR' one edge to the periphery thereof, and semi \Vitnesses: circular guides cotiperable with the screens F. A. Mmvson, to successively swing the screens against the RODNEY HILL.

Copies 0! thin patent new be obtained or llve cents each, by addressing the Oommiuiener of Patents,

willlhlml, D. 0." 

